Great find and I salute you for bringing these speakers back from the trash heap. I am sure they are fun (especially with the Fab4). Enjoy! 
Score!!! Just Picked up a Pair of "THE best for Beatles" Speakers.
There are times when you get lucky and a new audio acquisition propels your satisfaction of music to another level. Then, there are moments when high anticipation of a new find is deeply disappointing -- something like the audio equivalent of copying the Titanic with the hole already in it, and heading out to sea. And, sometimes, it’s just fun.
This is one of those stories.
We run a part time service business with the goal of keeping good audio equipment from going into a dumpster. While taking care of some issues with an old (literally) customer’s SL1200Mk2 he mentioned he had a pair of old Wharfedale speakers he picked up an an estate sale. One had a bad tweeter and was willing to give them to me. Well, as they say: "You can’t blame a compass for pointing north" and I jumped on the opportunity. (I made sure he got his ROI back from what he paid -- $80 for the pair).
When it came time to pick up his turntable, there sat a beautiful pair of speakers in the back of his SUV. We unloaded them, and I sent him home with his (now properly working) turntable. A quick glance at the rear label revealed the model#: W60c. Okay then. Time to find out what these things are.
Mr. Google brought me to several references and photos (including the manufactured date of 1961) and a post by someone named Brian:
"The W60 was made with the US market in mind. Gilbert Briggs felt that American customers liked a bit more bass than British customers, and the W60 was designed for the US specifically. "
And, then .... the good stuff:
"Perfect for Beatles (IMO, those old Wharfedale models from the ’60’s were THE best for Beatles, in part because ’60’s Wharfdale drivers are like the hi-fi equivalent of the old British-made Vox AC30 guitar amps that the Beatles used)."
Okay, that’s really cool. Now I’ve got something worth messing around with. I bypassed my usual "modder’s instincts" and chose to keep the sound of the W60s as original as possible. Nice 12" die cast bass driver. Hard back mid. (Not my first choice in mids, but a cost-effective way to get a driver into a box with minimal interference from the bass). And, an unfamiliar factory mylar tweeter with open voice coil. A extensive search for an original driver came up short, but I found a pair of soft domes with the same impedance and installed them. I worked the crossovers over with better and/or high gauge parts and cabling, making sure to stay with the same values in the original simple 1st order design. I usually bypass tone controls on speakers and hard wire quality audio-grade resistors in place, but decided to keep them intact to maintain the authenticity. The fabric woofer surrounds were in great shape but the sealing material had turned to dust. So, working in a dark room with a backlight, I sealed up all the openings in the cloth surrounds.
The speakers have now had several hours of break-in time with repaired woofer suspension and new tweet, with my usual "reference materials" ranging from female vocals, jazz, blues, and some hard-hitting rock (Dorina by Dada), and, sound pretty much as I expected. The mids are a little thin through the lower mid and not the linear and detailed upper mids I’m accustomed to on better gear. But, hey, these speakers are, literally, 64 years old.
So, on to the REAL test. How do they sound with the Beatles? Do they live up to the hype? Absolutely? 10 seconds into I Saw Her Standing There made me a believer. Bass is tight and goes deep enough to add real energy to the performance. Midrange was dynamic and the W60s pushed the vocals out front where they belong. Instruments lacked serious coloration (or is it colouration?) and sounded natural. I can’t comment much on the extended highs in that my ears no longer are a calibrated test instrument in that range of frequencies. But, an RTA indicated "stuff" going on there.
It was a nice change of pace to work over a speaker and evaluate it just for the fun of it, not being hypercritical of sound quality. I’ve got a good customer who has an extensive and immaculate Beatles paraphernalia collection. Thinking about giving him a call. They would look, feel, and sound right at home in his museum-quality Beatles collection.
So, are there other speakers out there that sound best for a particular musical group? Now that I think of it, those huge MTX disco boxes with the 18-piezo tweeter array on top were the best I ever heard with the Bee Gees.
13 responses Add your response
Way cool ! Back in the late 60’s my uncle had a pair that resembled those. Also a Harmon Kardon A500 tube integrated and a Gerard TT that was pre 40 B style. If I remember correctly the speakers were “ Sand Filled “. I remember listening to the Beatles White album and the first Black Sabbath album amongst other stuff. While some vintage my not sound as nice as modern it’s all VERY COOL. Kudos to you for appreciating them for what they are. Cheers , Mike B. |
Thanks for the comments, guys. A small disclaimer here (that I should have mentioned in the original post): The glamour shot of the front of the speakers is a stock photo, although mine are in pristine condition and do look as good as what's represented in the photo. My shop is anything but glamorous and the real photo would not have done them justice. The "equipment evaluation" space in my shop also includes, among other things, my car collection. It would have been difficult to get a good shot of the listening area without showing the front end of a 2016 Shelby GT350. Interesting note on the speakers: The serial#s are a few hundred units apart. One speaker has black paper on the woofer and midrange and the other is brown. I'm not sure if this is a production change, or the drivers were replaced at some point in their 60+year life? |
Now THIS is a cool post. The kind of post that gets me excited. I've experimented over the years with what gear works best with what other gear. I love the Beatles but have been disappointed with the sound of certain CD's played on my system; the Beatles being one of them. I do own a pair of Dahlquist DQ30i's on my midfi system. I suspect I should pair with them with better gear. I just can't haul heavy components around like I used to. The Dalhquists were built in 1991 I believe. I WILL get them connected to my main system this weekend and report back that I think. THANK YOU OP for a worthwhile post! Joe |
@waytoomuchstuff I admire you saving these gems. I have several pieces that are not working and I cannot bare to see in a dumpster. Problem is there are very few people in the Bay Area that work on old stereo electronics. Good on you. |
Thanks. I call this my "involuntary not-for-profit organization." It cost more to fix these than what we bring in. But, the rewards are worth the effort when you see adults brought to tears when dad's old Garrard spins and plays music again. Very good advice for sure. Really considered a serious rework of these speakers (including paying close attention to resonance, reflections, etc)., but decided to take a minimalist approach. 99% of the time I bypass those teeny little wires on those pots and replace them with high quality resistors (after running RTA and calibrating). Tough call here, but decided to keep them in. I can think of several speakers that might be the perfect match. I think we can eliminate Maggies or mini monitors from contention? |
It’s a very lean song and performance, little bass, lot of "dull" vocals but full of soulful vivid notes and emotions. It sounds good on a lot of speakers actually, but it sounds best when "Van is in the room". I am not an expert so I don't know if he is a good singer. I just know he does exactly what works and he has the skills and more. I don't know where that magic comes from. |